


I Choose You

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Set in 4A [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hood-Mills Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 19:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15371865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: The moment when Robin realized that he would choose Regina over Marian; set after the library scene with Page 23, but before they knew about Ingrid’s Shattered Sight Curse.





	I Choose You

Robin pushes his hand through her hair, drawing her in as he kicks her front door shut.  Her lips crash down onto his and she tugs at the hem of his shirt. There’s a sense of urgency there, a sense of need that convinces him there’s no way that what they’re doing can be wrong.

That morning they’d made a promise, promising that it would only happen the one time. He’d gone to her the night before in an impassioned moment—craving her kisses, missing her touch, yearning to see her smile.  For weeks they’d been avoiding each other, trying to stay apart because that was supposedly the right thing to do. She’d asked him to forget about her, and though he’d hardly deny her anything, it’s a request he simply cannot fulfill—because if he understands anything about Regina Mills, it’s that she’s unforgettable.

And that morning they’d quickly found a loophole, allowing themselves to enjoy one another for just a little while longer—to pretend that it could always be this way, that the blossoming love between them—the love that consumed him so completely and made him feel so alive—didn’t have to be buried.

She smiles against his mouth as she frees his shirt, then takes a step backward, stepping up onto the bottom step of the staircase. Her hand slides down his arm and she smiles as their fingers touch, hers entwining around his as she tugs him forward. He takes a moment to look her up and down, admiring her beauty and smiling as her cheeks flush.  He saunters toward her and his eyes meet hers—so full of emotion, so filled with hope—and arm loops around her waist, pulling her body up against his. She laughs a little as she folds her arms around his shoulders, her lips brushing over his.

He can feel her warm breath on his lips leans in to close the small gap between them, wanting nothing more than to lose himself in her.

And then it happens.

“Mom? Can I eat this?”

She shoves him back and smoothes her skirt, and though they’re bodies no longer touch, he can practically feel her heart racing as Henry rounds the corner, carrying a blue container.

“Henry…” she breathes.

“It’s the last of the chicken parm,” the boy says as he comes into view, smiling and nodding his greeting to Robin, as if there’s nothing strange about his presence in the foyer. “It’s still good, right?”

 “Um, y-yeah, it is…and… of course you can,” she tells him, struggling through her words. She’s flustered and her cheeks are flushed as she glances quickly, almost nervously, in Robin’s direction. “Henry, I…I thought you were staying with Emma tonight.”

“I was going to,” he says easily. “But then this thing happened with these ribbons she and Elsa were wearing and they needed to go find the Snow Queen, and…” he shrugs his shoulders, “And I was hungry and we still hadn’t eaten.”

“Oh…”

Henry looks between them for a moment and smiles, “I’m going to go heat this up then…”

Regina exhales as Henry disappears from sight, swallowing hard as she pushes her fingers through the front of her hair, a mixture of guilt and regret and embarrassment filling her eyes. “Do you think he saw…anything?” She shifts uncomfortably on her feet. “I just…I didn’t want him to see us…like this.” She shakes her head and takes a long, pained breath. “He has enough to deal with without bringing my messy life into it.”

“Regina,” he begins, taking a tentative step toward her he reaches out to her, touching his fingers to her elbow. When she doesn’t flinch, he steps closer and pulls her into a loose embrace. “I know this is a…difficult and complicated situation. And I know what I said before about my vows and my code, but…this is not an affair. It’s not some meaningless fling. I’m in love with you. I won’t apologize for that and I won’t feel guilty about it.”

He leans in, closing his eyes as he kisses her forehead, then her cheek and then her lips. She smiles as his eyes flutter open. “I can go if you want me to, but…”

“No,” she breathes, her voice raspy and barely audible. “I…I want you to stay.”

His smile brightens as his hand slips to the base of her neck and he kisses her forehead once more. “Then I’ll stay.”

“Do you still want to? I mean, we’re obviously not going to be…doing what we intended to do tonight.”

He can’t help but smile, “My only intention tonight was to be close to you, to spend time with you.” She smiles gently, blushing slightly as her eyes meet his. “So, how about this—how about I go and get Roland—he’ll be thrilled to see you and Henry again—and the four of us salvage what’s left of this evening, and in the morning, I’ll make us all breakfast.” He grins, “After all, I do owe you breakfast.”

“I’d like that,” she murmurs softly as a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “In fact, I’d love that.”

__

When he and Roland arrive back at Regina’s, Henry is smiling over a pizza that’s just been taken out of the oven, inhaling the steam as Regina rinses a dish cloth in the sink. He can’t help but smile as he watches her—standing there, barefoot in her tight pencil skirt, her hair drawn up behind her. There’s something so serene and normal about the moment, about her in the moment—and it’s absolutely beautiful to him.

“REGINA! HENRY! I MISSED YOU,” Roland exclaims as he breaks free from his hold and runs across the kitchen. Regina spins around, somewhat startled by the little boy’s voice; she quickly recovers, smiling widely as she drops to her knees as she pulls Roland into a tight hug, murmuring that she’s missed him too and is glad that he’s there now.

“I’ve been practicing, Henry,” Roland announces, as he spins away from her and pulls a video game controller from his satchel, showing Henry the way his fingers move quickly between buttons.

“That’s awesome,” Henry tells him with a proud smile—a smile that both he and Regina catch. “Maybe we can try it out with a real game and see how you do.” Henry looks up at Regina, “Can we eat in the family room.”

Robin grins as Regina tenses, but nods her head. “Just don’t get sauce all over my carpet. Please.”

“We’ll be careful,” Henry says dismissively, as he pulls two slices of onto two plates and looks back to Roland. “Do you want to play Zelda again?”

Robin laughs at Roland’s vigorous nod as he crosses the kitchen to Regina, pecking her lips with a soft kiss as the boys disappear into the next room, their chatter growing fainter as they go.

“The pizza looks incredible,” Robin murmurs, his lips still lingering over hers. “Was I really gone that long, though?”

 “Pizza is a staple in Henry’s diet, so I had most of it together. And, I may have had a little magical assistance,” she replies softly, as a grin curls onto her lips. “And I may have just needed to burn off a little nervous energy.” She takes a step back, and plates two slices of pizza. “After you left, Henry asked if you and I are back together.”

“And what did you tell him?”

Her smile is uneasy and she shakes her head, “I didn’t know what to tell him. Yesterday, I would have said no—what happened last night was just a one-time thing. But then, this morning happened and then this evening happened and…” She shakes her head. “I told him it was complicated.”

“And what did he say to that?”

Pushing a plate toward him, Regina smiles, “He told me that if you and I love each other, we should be together.”

“Ah, the sage wisdom of a thirteen year old boy.”

“The Charmings are clearly rubbing off on him,” Regina quips. “He’s sounding a lot like Mary Margaret. She thinks you and I should…just go for it…just believe that this is all going to work out for us in the end.” He watches as Regina leans against the counter, resting her elbows on the marble top. “I want to believe that.”

“Then believe it,” he says, his voice steady and gentle, as he leans beside her. She looks over at him and her eyes are filled with so much fear, yet so much hope—and he finds himself wanting nothing more than to make this chance they’re taking worthwhile, for her tentative belief in love to be rewarded. “Our situation is complicated,” he concedes. “But I can’t deny that I fell in love with you. We tried to ignore those feelings and it didn’t work—it actually had the reverse effect because right now, I am more in love with you than I’ve ever been.”

She reaches out, resting her hand over his wrist, turning it and rubbing her fingers over the blacked outline of his tattoo. “I feel the same way,” she murmurs quietly, her eyes tentatively shifting to meet his.

“I know this is hard. We’re in limbo, just waiting. But, I think Mary Margaret and Henry are right—maybe if we just take a chance, everything will just…work itself out.”

“That’s not usually how my story goes.”

“I know, but if this evening’s proven anything, it’s proven that there’s not just one version of your story. And maybe in this one, you’ll get that happily ever after.”

“I hope so,” Regina replies as she drops her head to rest on his shoulder. “And if not, I just want to enjoy whatever this is while we can.”

___

They finish their pizza in the kitchen, adjusting their conversation to lighter topics. She tells him how she’d taught herself to cook during the years of the curse—a way to pass the time, break up the monotony, relax herself—something that passed the time until Henry came along. She tells him how she’d made most of Henry’s baby food—his favorite had been a sweet potato blend and how she’d quickly learned to love cooking for others’, though ‘others’ were limited in quantity—and she tells him how, for a short time, her culinary skills fell short to frozen chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. She explains how as Henry grew older, they would spend hours together in the kitchen, experimenting with recipes. Her pizza sauce was the first thing they’d ever perfected together—and agreed upon—making it a staple in their weekly dinner routine. And he teases that he fears his breakfast tomorrow morning will fall short.

They talk about their early years of parenting, her trading her stories of apple picking with Henry as a toddler for his stories of lying in open meadows and watching the clouds pass with Roland.  And it’s all so easy and comfortable and feels so right, as if this is what their lives should always be like.

Finally, Regina pours them two glasses of wine and takes him by the hand, leading him into the family room, where Roland and Henry are still playing Zelda. They settled together on the couch—Regina lying against his chest, as his he holds her loosely at the waist, and her fingers tracing circular patterns against his knee. They don’t say anything, instead their attention is focused on the screen, watching as Henry and Roland play their game as they sip their wine; and he can’t help but think, once more, that he could spend forever in this very moment.

When Roland yawns for the third time in a matter of minutes, Henry suggests they go upstairs for the night; and when Roland’s eyes tentatively glance toward Robin, unsure of sleeping in a new place, Henry insists that it’ll be fun—like a slumber party they saw in a movie once. Henry promises to read a story and Roland is quick to take his hand, smiling as he gives Robin and Regina a hug and kiss. Henry leans, kissing Regina’s cheek and saying goodnight to Robin before they boys head up the stairs to Henry’s bedroom.

Robin feels a little flutter in his heart, as he turns his head to watch them go—thankful that Henry is so caring and thoughtful with Roland, taking the younger boy under his wing and showing him kindness—grateful for the sense of brotherly love between the two boys.

“We’ll let them settle, then go up and check on them,” Regina says, her voice calm, bringing him back into the moment.

“Henry is so good with him,” Robin murmurs, pressing his lips gently against her hair. “At thirteen, I don’t know that I would have been so keen to have a five-year-old constantly following me around.”

“He enjoys it. Henry’s always wanted a big family. Even though it’s not just the two of us anymore, he’s still always around adults. I think he likes having another kid around, someone younger, someone who looks up to him.” She yawns and he tightens his hold on her. “They’re certainly sweet together, though.”

“Like brothers…”

Again, a quiet silence falls between them. It’s not awkward or uncomfortable, but instead peacefully calm. He can feel her weight against him and her breathing growing steadier; her hand rests still on his thigh. He rests his head atop hers, staring out into the room, his thoughts swirling.

He thinks of Marian, frozen and unknowing and he feels a small pang of guilt—he wishes that he could just tell her. If he could only speak to her, this whole situation could be so much less complicated, less painful for them all. The vow he made so long ago is one that he knows in his heart he cannot honor—and if he continues to try, they’d only be living a lie and causing unnecessary strife.

“Regina?”

“Hmmm?”

“I think we should go up to bed.”

“Yeah…” she mumbles, as she settles back into him, making no attempt to move.

He laughs a little, kissing the top of his head as he sits up, pushing her up along with him. Her eyes flutter and she looks over at him, her eyes groggy with sleep. He stands and helps her up, smiling as she leans against him as they slowly make their way upstairs. She continues onto her bedroom, and he stops at Henry’s bedroom door to check on Roland—smiling as he sees his boy tucked under Henry’s arm. He steps inside the room and adjusts the covers over them. He pulls a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from beneath Henry’s arm and creases the page before placing on the table beside Henry’s bed. For a moment, he lingers there and watches the boys sleep, again feeling his heart swell at how safe and loved Roland appears.

He and Regina never set out to have an affair; an impossible turn of events had changed their situation, making it into something that it wasn’t. Their intent had always been to allow their broken hearts to finally heal, allow themselves to move on, to become a family built on second chances and support and love. He finds himself smiling because as he looks at their sons, cuddled peacefully together, he can’t help but feel as though they’ve succeeded.

Robin quietly exits, joining Regina in her bedroom. She’s already changed into a pair of flannel shorts and a fitted t-shirt, and she’s tossing decorative pillows to the floor as she turns down the bed.

“Tonight didn’t go exactly as we planned,” she muses, watching as he strips down to his boxers and undershirt. “Are you disappointed?”

“Disappointed?” He blinks, as he gathers up his clothes and folds them on a chair beside her bed. “I could never be disappointed that I was able to spend an evening with you.”

Her cheeks flush and she smiles shyly as she climbs into bed, and pats the empty space beside her. He remembers the previous night, how surprised she’d been that he’d stayed, how unused to affection she is. He turns off the light and climbs into the bed beside her, sliding toward her and pulling her into his arms. Her head settles against his chest, as she burrows into him.

“I love you, Robin,” she whispers into the silence after a few long minutes have passed.

He wonders if he was meant to hear it. It’s the first time she’s ever stated her feelings for him so plainly. With his eyes still closed, he presses his lips to her forehead. “I love you, too,” he whispers back, smiling as he feels her body relax in his arms as she easily drifts to sleep.

He knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is exactly what he wants, exactly where he wants to be, exactly where he’s supposed to be. His heart has made its choice. He’s chosen her.


End file.
